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By
Dallin

The word 'origami' is derived from two Japanese words; 'oru' and 'kami'. 'Oru' means to fold, while 'kami' means paper. That is exactly what origami is; folding paper.
It is not known exactly when origami was first practiced. It was probably shortly after the invention of paper in China in the first century A.D. It then spread to Japan around the sixth century.
At first in China and Japan paper was a rare commodity, so only rich nobles were able to practice origami. But as more paper was manufactured, more people could learn origami.
In 1797 the first origami book was published. It was entitled: How to Fold 1000 Cranes. It taught the reader how to fold origami cranes. There was a Japanese legend that if you folded 1000 origami cranes (hence the title), then you would have any one wish granted. From then on many origami books have been published; demonstrating how to fold many origami models.
In the 17th century, a German named Friedrich Froebel invented a teaching method for young kids that we now call kindergarten. Part of his curriculum was paper folding. He taught a 'one square, no cuts' philosophy of origami that is still emphasized today. The 'no cuts' part eliminated the problem of giving kindergartners scissors.
Nowadays many books, videos, and diagrams are published that help people learn origami. Many origami masters are continually designing new and more complex origami models, keeping the ancient tradition alive. Akira Yoshizowa is considered to be one of the greatest modern origamists, and he created many models that are common today.
Origami is a wonderful art that anyone, not just nobles, professors, or kindergartners can practice. That is the purpose of Epic Origami, to allow all to learn the ancient art of origami.

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Step 1: If you're using printer paper, orient it vertically. If you're using origami paper, make a waterbomb base and then skip to step 9.

Step 2: Valley fold the top left corner over (the top edge should align with the right side)

Step 3: Unfold

Step 4: Valley fold the top right corner over to the left edge

Step 5: Unfold and turn the paper over

Step 6: After you've turned the paper over, fold the top edge down so the creases lie on top of each other.

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Step 1: Start with your paper color side down

Step 2: Valley fold the bottom edge up to the top

Step 3: Valley fold the right edge to the left so it is five centimeters in length. This divides the paper about into thirds. If you don't have a ruler, you can just roll the paper into thirds. This is not as precise, but still works.

The Baggi box is a really cool model that was designed by Giuseppi Baggi. It is a very sturdy and practical box, but it has one super neat feature. It can be folded from a sheet of origami paper or an A4 piece of paper (8.5 by 11 inches). When you fold it from an A4 piece of paper, you get different sizes of boxes depending on how you orient the paper to begin with. This is a good model to make out of patterned cardstock paper. It makes your box even sturdier and makes it look pretty cool.

Step 1: Start with your paper color-side down. If you are using A4 paper, orienting it vertically will give you a cube shaped box, while orienting it horizontally will give you a skinny box (pictures of each of these boxes are at the bottom of the page)

Step 2: Valley fold the top up to the bottom, crease, and unfold

Step 3: Valley fold the top and bottom edges to the center, crease, and unfold

Step 4: Valley fold the bottom corners in so their edges align with the lowest crease line